


well i think you're a jewel, i think you're a ruby

by The_Doom_Dahlia, ultraviolentluv



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Concerts, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Punk Rock, Third Wheels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-18 20:47:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20197912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Doom_Dahlia/pseuds/The_Doom_Dahlia, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultraviolentluv/pseuds/ultraviolentluv
Summary: Steve and Robin go to a punk rock concert so Steve can impress Nancy. Robin feels a bit like a third wheel until Nancy's roommate, Barb, enters the picture.





	well i think you're a jewel, i think you're a ruby

**Author's Note:**

> hello lovely people ! i wrote this with the lovely the_doom_dahlia (abyssfemme on tumblr)! honestly she did most of the heavy lifting, i love her writing and we love a barb stan!! please go give her some love (all your love).
> 
> also, yes, mike's in a band and they're singing calpurnia songs. because i'm a calpurnia stan and i couldn't resist.

“Look,” Steve clapped his palm against his arm to get Robin’s attention, rolling up one sleeve to show the tattoo: a pair of crossed switchblades with “cut above” scrawled beneath them. “I got this done a while back, cool huh?” he asked, grinning. The ink looked choppy and unimpressive, but it was there and made him look  _ slightly  _ hardcore. Enough to pass as a punk, even at his very first show.

Robin, however, knew better. If there was anyone who couldn’t handle a tattoo needle, it was Steve fucking Harrington. She looked the ink over for a second before scratching at it amidst his protests. The temporary ink came back under her nails, a line scratched into the handle of one of the blades. “You’re not really fooling anybody, bud.” she told him, patting his back a little when she saw how disappointed he looked. “It’s not about the punk on the outside, it’s all about the punk on the inside.”

Steve’s face instantly fell and he pouted in Robin’s direction. “I’m punk on the inside,” he insisted, with absolutely no evidence to back up his claim. He tugged his sleeve back down and decided he was extra-grateful for the jacket now. He looked ahead of them and squinted. “So when’s this show gonna get on the road? I’m impatient. I feel like I’ve gotta prove myself to you now.” He stuck his tongue out at Robin and shoved her in the shoulder a bit.

Robin laughed, nudging him back. “Aww, I’m the one you’re supposed to impress now? What about the Priss?”

Steve’s cheeks burned and he looked around, peering over the crowd ahead and the one behind. “She’s not here yet. She’s bringing one of her friends along.”

“Steve, I’m not wheeling around with a stranger while you try to impress Nancy.”

“Don’t worry! Nance can’t drive, so her roommate’s coming along to drive her back to their place after. It’ll be like she isn’t even here.”

Robin let out a loud sigh so Steve would be able to hear her distaste loud and clear. This was typical, honestly, and she was surprised she hadn’t seen it coming. Leave it to Steve to hyper-fixate on impressing Nancy so much that he wouldn’t even think about the other two people involved. She let it go, though, deciding that maybe she could slip her extrovert suit on for the night. As she’d learned with Steve, friends can come about in surprising ways.

It took a few more minutes for Nancy to actually show up. She looked to be just about as punk as Steve was. At least the patches on her jacket were all sewed on straight. “Steve!” she called over the crowd, waving to him.

Steve quickly fixed his hair before turning on his heel and shooting fingerguns towards Nancy. “Hey.” he said, trying to look and sound smooth. He was failing miserably, but at least he was trying.

Robin instantly grimaced at him and turned her face away so she wouldn’t have to completely roll her eyes into the next century. It was painful to watch, every single time. She could tell she’d be spending a lot of time standing at the bar, far away from these two. “Hey, Priss.” she greeted, the term more endearing than mocking nowadays.   
  
“Hey, Robin.” Nancy smiled a little. “You look nice.”

“Where’s your roomie?” Steve asked, looking around. 

“Barb went downstairs to the bathroom to check her makeup.” Nancy explained, already taking Steve’s arm. “She promised she’d come up near the stage with us once she finished. C’mon, the show’s gonna start soon!” she grinned, tugging Steve along. 

Steve, trying not to blush again, let himself be pulled along. “You coming with, Rob?”

Robin shook her head. “Not yet, I’m gonna get some water first.” she said. She watched the two of them fade away into the crowd and sighed. It’d be a long night if this was what she had to contend with. Walking to the bar, she leant against it and watched the audience with dulled interest. The show kicked into gear and Robin turned away from it to face the bar properly. If nothing else, Steve would probably have fun.

As Steve went off and immersed himself in the music he was trying really hard to understand – and he was trying his  _ hardest  _ – a redhead approached the bar and ordered herself a glass of cola. She eyed Robin for a minute as she waited on her drink. 

Robin noticed quickly. “Didn’t your mom tell you it wasn’t nice to stare?”

“Sorry.” The girl said, smiling a little. “I like your jacket. Blue’s a good color for you.” she told her, leaning a little against her arms and looking at her properly. She had a small sea of freckles dotted all along her face, and her eyes seemed to glint behind her glasses.

Robin shoved her tongue into her cheek and bit down on it to try and hide the stupid grin she felt herself nearly break into. “Thanks,” she said, tapping her fingers on the bar. She squinted at her and raised her eyebrows. “You here with a group?”

“Yeah, I came with my friend,” she replied, cocking her head towards the crowd near the stage. “I’m her ride, that’s it.”

“Ah.” Robin lifted her glass to her lips and sipped her water slowly. “I’m here with my absolute dingus of a best friend, but he ran off with this girl he’s trying to impress. It’s sad. Cute, actually, but don’t tell him I said that.” She looked around the room, a little antsy. “There’s supposed to be another girl coming, I guess, but I haven’t seen her.”

The redhead shrugged. “Maybe she didn’t show. My friend’s on a date with some guy she knows from the college. Want to know a secret?”

Robin nodded. “Sure.”

“The only reason why she invited him to this show is because her brother’s in the frontlining band.”

A lightbulb went off over Robin’s head.  _ Brother. Steve had definitely said something about Nancy’s brother Mike being in this band.  _ “Is your friend, by any chance, named Nancy?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at the girl.

The girl blinked a few times. “ _ Oh shoot. _ ” she said, realization hitting her like a brick to the face. “You’re the girl Nancy mentioned, Steve’s friend!” she laughed a little, now more sheepish than before. “I’m sorry that your friend’s such a dingus. My name’s Barb. It’s nice to meet you.” Her face was tinted now, freckles popping out even more as she extended a hand.

“Robin,” she said, meeting her hand in the middle. She gave it a solid shake and smiled. “So we’ve both been ditched by the wonderful duo that is Steve and Nancy, huh.” She gulped down the rest of her water and set the glass down on the bar with a little  _ ping  _ sound.

“Yeah.” Barb sighed, trying to peer through the crowd for any sign of them. “That happens a lot with me and Nancy.” she confessed. “Could be worse though; before I came out we had a lot of “double dates” where guys would bring their shitheel friends. It’s not her fault, but it still wasn’t a very good time.”

Robin paused for a moment, trying to decide how she wanted to word her next sentence. She ultimately decided on telling the truth, feeling safe with the amount of pins on Barb’s outfit. “I know the feeling. Steve keeps trying to set me up with every cool lesbian he sees. None of them ever work out. He has no idea what my type even is. But he tries, I guess,” she sighed.

Barb got quiet for a second, taking a sip from her cola and looking into the soda’s darkness. “Do you think  _ that’s  _ why Nancy talked me into coming for this?” Her voice sounded a little bleak at the concept.

Robin shrugged, then snorted. “God, yeah, probably,” she said. She glanced over towards the crowd, no sign of their friends in sight, and huffed. “They try their hardest, don’t they?” She bit on the inside of her cheek for a moment, then looked back at Barb. “I’m not entirely complaining, though.” She flicked her eyes over Barb’s outfit again, a little smirk managing to find its way onto her face.

Barb blushed harder, looking down at her own dress and leather jacket before looking Robin over. “Me neither.” she laughed a little, grinning. “You seem pretty cool.”

“I don’t know if I’d say  _ that,”  _ Robin said, giggling a little. She could think of at least fifteen instances in the past week that directly refuted that assessment. She tripped over her own feet way too much for her own good, and she knew she should probably find an annoying nickname for Steve that was a little less juvenile than  _ dingus.  _ “But I’m glad I’ve fooled you into thinking so.”

She giggled, finishing her soda. “It’s not like I’m that cool. I work at the local library, this is the most punk outfit I own. Most of the time I dress like some Stepford nightmare.”

Robin bit her lip in thought and tried to imagine what Barb might look like on a normal day. “I pretty much look like this all the time,” she said, motioning to herself. “The boots are integral. As are the chain necklaces.” She tapped her fingernails against the side of her empty glass.

“Very butch chic.” Barb told her, eyes darting for just a moment to look her fingernails over. Her own were cut short, painted a soft pink.

The band finally made their way onto the stage and Robin turned to look as the crowd started clapping. “C’mon,” she said, jerking her head in the general direction. “Let’s go…  _ immerse.”  _ She laughed and grabbed Barb by the hand, not thinking too hard about it. As her fingers tapped against the inside of Barb’s palm, though, she decided that maybe she should.

Barb put down her glass and walked with her, holding her hand loosely. She waved once they were in sight of Nancy and Steve. “Hey, lovebirds.” she joked.   
  
“Hey!” Nancy waved. “Good to see you two are getting along.”

Barb nodded. “She’s  _ really  _ cool.” she insisted.

Steve was busy bopping his head to the music like an idiot. Robin reached forward and slapped him on the shoulder. “Quit that,” she said, scowling. “You look like a bobblehead.” She rested her arm on Barb’s shoulder and leaned into her a little bit. “We found each other at the bar by chance.”

“Aw, romantic!” Nancy chirped.

Barb wanted to tell her that it wasn’t like that, at least not yet, but Nancy quickly turned to the stage to cheer for her brother. Instead, she leant back into Robin and bopped her head slightly to the beat.

“Oh, when I do it I look like a ‘bobblehead’, but it’s fine when she does it?” Steve joked.

“Yeah. It is.” Robin poked Steve in the forehead and laughed a little. “The difference is you’re not cute.”  _ Well, she didn’t mean to make it sound like that, but here she was. _

Barb let out a little noise of surprise and delight. “Thank you.” she said, bumping their shoulders together. She felt at ease when she was around Robin. Maybe it was the fact that they were the same, maybe it was something more. Still, it was nice to find another girl like her at this show.

“You’re welcome,” Robin squeaked, quieter this time. She started to sway with the music, tapping her hand against her thigh to the drum beat. She watched as Barb moved along in her own way for a few minutes, but finally, she tapped her on the shoulder. “Dance with me?” she said, raising her eyebrows.

It took a second or two for the question to register, but once it did she grinned. “Of course.” she said, and took her hand again. She leant against Robin, swaying with her, feeling a little high and a lot softer as they moved together. Nancy didn’t even look their way, and she couldn’t find it in her to care.

Robin moved along to the music in a natural, fluid motion. Maybe her middle school years of dance class were coming in handy, she thought. She draped her arms over Barb’s shoulders and smiled at her, lipstick-covered mouth turning upwards at the corners. “His band’s honestly way better than I expected,” she noted out loud.

Barb nodded, speaking a lot softer than Robin was. “I’ve had to hear them practice before. They’ve actually improved a lot.” she giggled. Her own arms slipped to curl around Robin, careful not to get handsy. She was just grateful that she hadn’t worn heels tonight, she’d have probably sprained an ankle and that was neither sexy nor alluring.

Nancy tugged on Steve’s sleeve as her brother started playing a new riff on the guitar. “This is my favorite song!” she said. She turned to Robin and Barb and repeated herself. “This is my favorite one!”

Robin focused for a minute, and once Mike started singing, she realized she recognized it, vaguely. Steve had played a little recording of it for her once before.  _ “My baby don’t laugh! All she do is cry!”  _ Robin sang, shaking her face at Barb. She grinned and held Barb’s hands in hers, swinging their arms back and forth. She spun herself around and seemed to offer to do the same for Barb.

Barb nodded, giggling in delight once she was spinning. She leant in close to Robin, a little high off the music and being around her. It felt, for a moment, like she could just lean in and kiss her. The second she realized that, however, she burst into bashful laughter and blushed harder. “You’re a really good dancer!”

“Thanks!” she chimed back, her face glowing. She shook her head around, getting her hair all messed up.  _ “My baby is insane! She brings all the rain!”  _ she mouthed along to the song. She found herself staring at Barb’s face just a little too long. She really wanted to count those freckles sometime.

The two danced together, mouthing along to every line they could make out over the crowd around them, hand-in-hand. The crowd was eager and lively, having to be warned away from starting a full-on moshpit in the middle of the show a couple times. Eventually, Robin realized that Steve and Nancy were long gone, lost somewhere up front close to the stage. She was left with her arms slung across Barb’s shoulders still, hair a mess in her eyes. She wanted to kiss her then. Instead, though, she found herself pulling Barb back over towards the bar. “I’m thirsty!” she said, voice strained over the volume of the crowd. 

Barb went with her, leaning their heads together. “You’re beautiful.” she said, voice soft and sincere. The two walked together like they’d been in step for ages, leaning close and giggling like fools at the bar. Neither was drunk, but the world still spun around them in a lazy and cozy spiral. She was practically draped on Robin’s arm by now, eyes sleepy and an undercurrent of a giggle in her words.

Robin let the comment roll around in her head like a pearl, treasuring it, keeping it safe. She didn’t have the proper words yet to find what she wanted to say to Barb, so instead, she just grinned.  _ She thinks I’m beautiful.  _

When the show ended and the venue began to clear out, Nancy and Steve came to the bar. “Hey,” Nancy grinned. She’d clearly had a couple when they weren’t looking. “We’re gonna take a Lyft over to Steve’s place.”

Steve was grinning like a fool, shooting finger-guns at Robin.

“Oh, yeah?” Robin said, raising her eyebrows and shooting an  _ oh-my-GOD-Harrington  _ look Steve’s way. She poked him in the shoulder and laughed. “I think Barb and I were actually gonna go hang out at mine for a bit.”

“Were we?” Barb piped. A small blush rose in her cheeks that she tried to hide behind her hand, but Robin caught sight of it too soon.

“I mean,” Robin grinned, scratching at the back of her head near-sheepishly. “Only if you want to. We could totally just part ways here if you don’t want to come up to mine.”

“I’d love to.” Barb assured her, slipping her hands into the pockets of her skirt.

Robin wrapped her arm around Barb’s shoulders and gave Steve a little two-finger salute. “You kids have fun, then,” she said, making her way over towards the exit. “And please be safe!” She said it with the intention of wishing them a safe Lyft ride, but figured Steve probably needed the reminder in all senses of the word.

Once the two were alone, Barb turned on her heel to face Robin. “So.”   
  
“So,” Robin smiled. “You didn’t tell me you knew Steve.”  
  
“You never asked.”   


“You give a gal six months and she doesn’t even tell you she knows your friends already.”

Barb laughed and kissed her slowly, leaning into her. “Better me than some stranger, right?”

Robin gave a small nod and smiled, her nose still grazing Barb’s. “Definitely better that it’s you.” She kissed her again, gently, yet strong, secure. “So,” she began, pressing a kiss on her girlfriend’s jaw. “Your place or mine?”

“I think the idea of walking you home sounds romantic, doesn’t it?” Barb teased. She took Robin’s hand in hers and locked their fingers together. “Yours is good.”

“Cool.” Robin said, a little breathless. Barb left her like that a lot, she had ever since they’d met. “You’re a fuckin gem, babe. The coolest.” she added, bumping their shoulders together and reveling in Barb’s delighted giggle.

“Not as cool as my girlfriend,” Barb hummed. She swung their arms back and forth as they walked, laughing softly. “Seriously. Your whole outfit tonight is iconic.”

“Mine? But did you see  _ Steve’s?”  _ Robin said. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “The idiot gave himself a fake tattoo, Barb. Oh my god.”

“I seriously don’t see why Nancy’s so into him.”

“That’s cause you’re gay, babe.”

“Touche.” Barb smiled and glanced at Robin, taking in the way there was a hint of a smile permanently stuck to her face. “I really did have a great time tonight.”

“Same here. We’ll need to actually have a proper double date with Steve and Nancy at some point.” Robin put an arm around her waist, walking close to her. “For now though, I’d love to have a nice night alone with my girl.”

Barb smiled and walked just a little faster, seeing Robin’s apartment complex coming up on the right. Pressing a kiss to her cheek as they came up the steps to the door, she leant her head on hers. “Consider me all yours.”


End file.
